A campaign featuring a photo exhibition and talks under the theme "Pakbara Paradiso" was launched last week at the Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre by civic and environment conservation groups to drum up public support to save the sea and rich undersea marine life off Satun province.
The main target of the campaign is the Pak Bara deep-sea port megaproject. It is feared the project will destroy one of Thailand's remaining marine paradises, ruin the livelihoods of tens of thousands of locals in Satun and annihilate the flourishing tourism industry.
These campaigners have no intention whatsoever to create conflict in society as earlier suggested by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Nor do they oppose the Pak Bara project just for the sake of opposing it. Nor were they paid by some foreign organisations to kill off the project as alleged by supporters of the scheme.
Proponents have many reasons to back the Pak Bara deep-sea port. Strategically located on the western coast in the Andaman Sea, the port will be capable of accommodating huge container ships and supertankers from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
It will cut short the journey time for vessels traveling through the Malacca Straits to reach deep-sea ports at Laem Chabang or Bangkok. With a landbridge connecting Pak Bara deep-sea port with the Songkhla deep-sea port, unloaded cargo could be transported on land to the port in Songkhla and shipped or loaded on trains to Bangkok.
Existing deep-sea ports on the western coast such as the ones in Krabi and Trang are too small to accommodate huge freighters or container ships.
With Pak Bara, Thai exports to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia can be shipped directly to their destinations without having to go through the Malacca Straits, hence saving time and money.
Related industries such as halal food and rubber product industries will be set up near the port which will create jobs for the locals and improve the local economy as suggested by project defenders.
But this rosy picture has left out many crucial issues. For instance, marine ecology. From the sea in Satun to Phangnga, the estuary ecology made up of mangrove forests and swamps is very rich and considered one of the country's few sources of abundant marine life. The government and supporters of the project have failed to inform the public that myriad heavy industries near the port and the supertankers which will serve those industries will cause adverse impacts.
The public has not been informed either that the deep-sea port will be built on reclaimed land stretching several kilometres into the sea which will harm marine ecology and the traditional fishing grounds of local people. It is not known either if more power plants will be built to feed the huge electricity needs of Pak Bara-related industries.
Prime Minister Prayut has promised the government would take care of people who will be affected by the project. But the painful experiences of people who live near Map Ta Phut deep-sea port and its surrounding industrial estates serve as a grim reminder to Satun people that a promise from a government leader is no guarantee of their good health and livelihoods.
The people of Satun must have the right to choose and say no to the Pak Bara deep-sea port project.